@bonafide_bidder wrote:
Don't use the Global Shipping Program when Canadians or Mexicans buy. The GSP is a ripoff, it charges customs duties on items which customs duties are not charged on under NAFTA and GATT. I won't buy from any seller that uses the GSP.
You may not know this, but we Canadian sellers were actually hoping the GSP would attract more Canadian buyers (and buyers from overseas) who wanted to avoid the GSP (the GSP isn't available here). For Canadian sellers, it was one of the few things on eBay that could actually make our listings more appealing to Canadian buyers.
I still buy occasionally from U.S. sellers, but I avoid any who use the GSP. However, it's important to understand the true source of the excess costs for Canadian buyers. This is why Pierre asked you to show him an example of duties collected -- he knows there are no such examples.
What the GSP is collecting are Canadian taxes (GST/HST), absolutely nothing to do with customs duties. The problem with the GSP consists of three factors:
1) Those Canadian taxes are being collected up front on items that in many cases (i.e. through the usual postal system) would not attract any GST/HST.
This usually means items under about $120 get through tax-free -- that's a "fuzzy" number, because whether your imported item gets taxed or not is extremely variable. I've had parcels worth $150 US get through scot-free by USPS, while I've had others worth under $100 taxed. However, the GSP system taxes everything above the allowable Canadian limit (currently $20).
So buying anything worth over $20 from a U.S. GSP seller is a guarantee you'll be paying the required taxes. You're paying for something you really by law are supposed to be paying, so "rip-off" is not the right word. The fact that most of us get away with freebies most of the time can't truly be blamed on the GSP.
2) Where I have a bone to pick with the GSP are the charges that Pitney-Bowes tacks onto the total for simply collecting the (GST/HST) taxes. Now, Canada Post charges -- about $9.95 -- to collect those taxes too, but only if CBSA has actually levied GST/HST on your incoming parcel, which isn't in every case, and is really only the case for most items valued over about $75-$100. And that is the "rip-off" part of the GSP. Pitney-Bowes (and probably eBay by extension through contract agreements, I suspect) is charging a fee on every single item above $20.00 that goes through the GSP system.
So, at the moment, if you buy something from a U.S. GSP seller that is valued over about $150.00, chances are you aren't going to pay more than you would via the old USPS/Canada Post process. So the trick is to avoid the GSP for any items of lower value if you want to avoid unnecessary GSP charges.
Keep in mind that if CBSA or the Canadian government ever decide to completely crack down on personal imports by Canadians, then the GSP won't be much different in terms of cost than the usual shipping process.
3) There is a 2-step shipping system involved with the GSP (the item goes from the seller to Pitney-Bowes' shipping hub and from there onward). I have three problems with this part of the programme:
(a) the 2 shipping services often increase the overall shipping charges;
(b) the item usually takes somewhat longer to arrive than with the ordinary USPS shipping; and
(c) I've had GSP parcels very crudely and messily re-packed at the shipping hub, and delivered without even the seller's return address information or packing slip -- very shoddy!
So the bottom line is -- if you want to avoid excess charges, avoid the GSP for items above $20.00 but below about $150.00. The higher the value of the item above $150, the less GSP makes any difference.
If you use the GSP for items under $20.00, you won't be charged GST/HST, but you will pay what is in most cases the somewhat higher 2-step shipping cost. Remember that all GSP items go with tracking, whereas not all U.S. sellers using USPS ship with tracking.
All of which means that we Canadian sellers do have a bit of an advantage in selling to Canadians who might want to avoid the GSP. Whether they simply look for U.S. sellers without GSP or actually search for Canadian sellers offering the same items, is the question.
I hope my explanation helps to clarify this rather complicated subject. Basically I think the GSP is a money tap for Pitney-Bowes (and probably eBay too), paid for by Canadian buyers who aren't fully aware of how the programme works. It was intended to help Americans who are traditionally wary or uncertain about selling abroad, sell outside the U.S. with no worries. What those sellers don't realize is that word has gotten around and a lot of Canadian buyers are now avoiding U.S. GSP sellers, in some cases unnecessarily, but in most cases with good reason.
